title: Alpha absolute power measurement in panic disorder with agoraphobia patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Panic attacks are thought to be a result from a dysfunctional coordination of cortical and brainstem sensory information leading to heightened amygdala activity with subsequent neuroendocrine, autonomic and behavioral activation. Prefrontal areas may be responsible for inhibitory top-down control processes and alpha synchronization seems to reflect this modulation. The objective of this study was to measure frontal absolute alpha-power with qEEG in 24 subjects with panic disorder and agoraphobia (PDA) compared to 21 healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  qEEG data were acquired while participants watched a computer simulation, consisting of moments classified as "high anxiety"(HAM) and "low anxiety" (LAM). qEEG data were also acquired during two rest conditions, before and after the computer simulation display.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed a higher absolute alpha-power in controls when compared to the PDA patients while watching the computer simulation. The main finding was an interaction between the moment and group factors on frontal cortex. Our findings suggest that the decreased alpha-power in the frontal cortex for the PDA group may reflect a state of high excitability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest a possible deficiency in top-down control processes of anxiety reflected by a low absolute alpha-power in the PDA group while watching the computer simulation and they highlight that prefrontal regions and frontal region nearby the temporal area are recruited during the exposure to anxiogenic stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Panic and Respiration, Institute of Psychiatry of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. marcelecarvalho@gmail.com
authors.forename: Marcele Regine
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.forename: Bruna Brandão
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Velasques
authors.forename: Rafael C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Freire
authors.forename: Maurício
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cagy
authors.forename: Juliana Bittencourt
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.forename: Silmar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: Bernard P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Rangé
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Piedade
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Antonio Egidio
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Nardi
authors.forename: Hagop Souren
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Akiskal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Absolute alpha-power; Brain mapping; Frontal cortex; Neurobiology; Panic disorder; qEEG